The deteriorating air quality and the increasing smog has been affecting health of people at large; more so in the last few days. Schools in Delhi were shut down as a result in the past month. Despite several measures being implemented to improve air quality, an increasing number of issues are emerging instead of improvements. Dia Mirza, who has been an advocate for environmental conservation, believes things will change only “when conversations are not confrontational”
She goes on, “ When there is space for a dialogue where everyone feels like a stakeholder, it is then that we find solutions. I feel it is important to discuss issues that affect us with our family, neighbours, communities and on any platform, regardless of how small or big it is. And Air pollution is a serious health hazard for all age groups especially children and elderly.”
The problems are arising also because the existing norms are not being implemented by pollution control boards and civic bodies, feels the actor. “We the citizens need to hold those accountable answerable while we at an individual level start to make informed choices. When each one of us starts to segregate and manage waste effectively, reduce wasteful consumption and question absence of mitigation measures we will witness change. If the air becomes progressively polluted, then we have no choice but to start addressing the problem seriously,” further shares Mirza, who is also speaking aloud the problems faced by the people of Spiti Valley and Zanskar due to low snowfall and receding glaciers, in the latest documentary No Water No Village, for which she has done the narration. The film was screened at All Living Things Environmental Film Festival 2023.
Talking about the docu-film, and what all she got to earn while working on it, Mirza shares, “Climate change unfolds more rapidly in mountainous areas and is already affecting the global reserves of snow and ice which will directly impact the world’s water supply. Climate change is also diminishing biodiversity , disrupting the weather cycle, and precipitating landslides, avalanches and floods in high-altitude zones. The Himalayan regions are already experiencing extreme weather events and as the film points out, it is very important for communities which are being directly impacted by them to be a part of the solutions. I think it very lucidly and simply articulates the challenges we are facing and the way we can collectively counter them.”
{{/usCountry}}Talking about the docu-film, and what all she got to earn while working on it, Mirza shares, “Climate change unfolds more rapidly in mountainous areas and is already affecting the global reserves of snow and ice which will directly impact the world’s water supply. Climate change is also diminishing biodiversity , disrupting the weather cycle, and precipitating landslides, avalanches and floods in high-altitude zones. The Himalayan regions are already experiencing extreme weather events and as the film points out, it is very important for communities which are being directly impacted by them to be a part of the solutions. I think it very lucidly and simply articulates the challenges we are facing and the way we can collectively counter them.”
{{/usCountry}}And this she points out has far-reaching effects on other regions that people are unaware of. “Well, fast melting snow and ice reserves will impact the water supply of millions and also impact the irrigation of fields where food is grown. Snow cover is also critically important for regulating the earth’s climate and it affects regional weather patterns as well. Be it tourism, food security or livelihoods, climate change has a far reaching impact on every aspect of human existence across the world,” she ends.